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Secession of South Carolina
The first state to secede from the Union, which "kicked off" the Civil War. Soon after, a total of 13 states would declare themselves an independent nation: the Confederacy. -
Battle of Bull Run
Many Northerners thought this would be an easy victory for the Union. Although, this was defied as the Confederacy won. At this point the Union realized the war would be longer than 90 days and it gave the Confederacy confidence to continue in the war. -
Battle of the Ironclads
Otherwise known as the Battle of Hampton Roads, it was a fight between the Northern and Southern ships known as the Monitor and the Merrimack (Confederates captured the Merrimack) respectively. The Union won this battle and the Confederates blew up their ship to refuse the Union from capturing it back. -
Battle of Antietam
The single bloodiest battle of the Civil War was won by the Union through a small margin though. There were major casualties on both the North and the South, but the North had less deaths resulting in their victory. This served as a turning point in the war as the Union began winning more battles from this point. -
Emancipation Proclamation
The statement delivered by Abraham Lincoln would declare all slaves in the rebel states (the Confederacy) free. This would serve as a new purpose in the Civil War. Although, the statement wouldn't do much for the slaves at the time since the Confederacy was a whole new nation in which Lincoln wasn't their president. -
Battle of Gettysburg/ Pickett's Charge
Under the command of General George Pickett, 15,000 Confederate soldiers marched into the North as an aggressive approach for General Robert E. Lee. Although. they would lose massively which would force General Lee and his forces to stay in the South. Along with the Battle of Antietam, this also served as a turning point in the war. -
Battle of Vicksburg
In June of 1863, just around the time Lee was marching towards Gettysburg. Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant surrounded Confederate troops in Vicksburg, Mississippi. After a long siege of the city, Grant captured it on July 4th, 1863. This completed phase 2 of the Anaconda plan, which is controlling the Mississippi. -
New York Draft Riots/Southern Bread Riots
In the North, many people were angry for the fact that they were forced into the army while rich people were able to get out of it. As well, in the South, there were riots about how scarce food was and many blamed the government for this happening. -
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
Only five days after the surrender of the Confederacy, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by famous actor and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth. There were many different reactions from this, some being happy and others sad. -
Confederate Surrender at Appomattox Court House
Due to severe issues in the Confederacy, such as scarcity of food and cities being destroyed, General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant.
